This Mom of 6 Has a Simple Method to Stop Kids from Interrupting

If there’s one thing you can probably count on as a mom, it’s the fact you’ll never have a full conversation with another grownup without at least one little person interrupting you mid-sentence. But actual adult conversations don’t have to be saved for moms night out! This mom of six has the perfect tip to helping your impatient little talkers wait their turn without having to get you scream, “Can’t you see I’m talking?” (which never works anyway).

“I like to think I’m a chill parent but I have plenty of moments when that is not the case. Certain behaviors are more triggering for me than others. One such behavior that requires deep breathing exercises on my part is interrupting,” Martin-Weber wrote in a Facebook post. “Particularly frequent and persistent interrupting. Which can happen easily with young children and in a large family.”

According to a post that appeared on Babble, Martin-Weber suffered from postpartum depression and has six children ranging in ages from 5 to 18. After her second child, the article said, she decided to address her “triggers” as a mom. Interrupting kiddos was a big one.

“We tried teaching ‘excuse me please’ or just ‘excuse me’ but they just repeated that louder and louder too. Cute at first but ‘excuse me mommy’ 30 times isn’t much better than ‘mommy’ 30 times,” she said in her post.

So Martin-Weber and her husband came up with another way. They instructed their kids that when they have something to say, they should simply, quietly, put a hand on a parent’s arm. The parents, in turn, will acknowledge the “interruption” by touching hands, placing a hand on their backs or holding their hands. Then, when the parents have finished their conversation, they will respond to the child’s needs.

She says all of her kids — including her youngest, for which it was the biggest challenge — have adapted to the new “touch and acknowledge” system.

Sounds easy right? Try it for yourself and then tell us how it goes in the comments below.

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